Cineworld has become the first cinema chain to remove all booking fees for film goers who buy tickets online, but is raising the price for those who buy tickets at its cinemas.

The cut will save pre-booking cinema goers the 70p previously charged per ticket, to a maximum of £4.20 per booking. The company is also offering a 10% discount to those who register for MyCineworld, an online service which allows it to make personalised offers on the basis of the films you have watched.

But customers who prefer to buy their tickets on arrival at the cinema will pay 6% more.

Ticket prices vary according to the film, type of ticket and location of the cinema, but someone buying a ticket for John Carter in 3D in Wandsworth on Friday night will pay £11.98 instead of £11.30, while someone in Bradford buying a ticket for Bel Ami will pay £7.95 instead of £7.50. The increase will also apply to those buying tickets through offers such as Orange Wednesday.

Cineworld took the decision to scrap booking fees after 77% of cinema goers in a survey said it would encourage them to book online, and 86% said discounted tickets would encourage them to pre-book. The chain conducted a trial in its Scottish cinemas last year, finding that the increase in bookings more than compensated for the loss of the booking fee.

Justin Skinner, vice president of marketing at Cineworld, said: "The pilot allowed us to gauge the consequences of getting people to book online. The customers were coming to us more because we were becoming more competitive compared to other cinemas. This is a game changer for the leisure and entertainment industry."

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Which? has long been campaigning for companies to put an end to hidden and disproportionate surcharges, so we're pleased Cineworld is leading the way and hope that other companies follow their lead."

The practice of adding surcharges for payment by debit and credit card is rife in many industries, but not all companies have responded as positively. EasyJet restructured its fees in January and increased the amount it charges customers at the same time.